This is happening at Mount Royal University in Calgary, where he is spending a week as writer-in-residence. Last night, all kinds of old friends turned up for a talk entitled Our Story Begins in Calgary. And the introductions and expressions of thanks left even our grizzled road warrior blushing. This photo comes courtesy of Michelle Bodnar. Word has it that she has taken a few more to illustrate a looming article. Can you rely on Our Hero to keep you apprised? You betcha.
A FEW DAYS LATER . . . . Did I mention a looming article? Check it out: Click here.

The days fly away like wild horses over the hills. The poet Charles Bukowski said it first. But I've been feeling it as I get set to spend a week as writer-in-residence in Calgary.

I'll be at Mount Royal University from March 23 through March 27, courtesy of the English Department. For my public presentation (March 25), Our Story Begins in Calgary, I've been sorting through photos from my days as books editor at the Calgary Herald. Above, we find me and Mordecai Richler . . . drinking coffee! To our left: Mavis Gallant in Banff with my old beater, aka the Silver Bullet. She was spending time at the Banff Centre and asked me to take her into town for groceries. She hated the elk! Could not understand why such dangerous animals were allowed to roam around freely. Below we have Tim Findley and his partner, William Whitehead, at Mescalero, one of my old favorite haunts. Richler, Gallant, Findley:

giants of Canadian literature . . . all of them gone. That's what struck me. That's what called up those horses. But not to worry: my subtitle is An Adventure in Creative Nonfiction. We'll venture beyond nostalgia. Even so, eh?

Before turning mainly to books about arctic exploration and Canadian history, Ken McGoogan worked for two decades as a journalist at major dailies in Toronto, Calgary, and Montreal. He teaches creative nonfiction writing through the University of Toronto and in the MFA program at King’s College in Halifax. Ken served as chair of the Public Lending Right Commission, has written recently for Canada’s History, Canadian Geographic, and Maclean’s, and sails with Adventure Canada as a resource historian. Based in Toronto, he has given talks and presentations across Canada, from Dawson City to Dartmouth, and in places as different as Edinburgh, Melbourne, and Hobart.